I don't understand. I never heard of this game. But seeing how it's number 9 of the series, it must be. =)

The short of it is that Dragon Quest is the best-selling videogame series in Japan. New releases of the game are treated as national holidays and most people get the day off from work. It is bigger than Final Fantasy in that country but, due to Enix's limited international reach, hasn't found the same level of audience as FF has the world over. Dragon Quest VIII for the PS2 was a big step in the right direction for the series becoming accepted as a power in the RPG market in the Western world. [It is, in fact, very awesome.]

Let me find something to compare it to: Imagine if the newest part of the GTA series -- GTA IV, for example -- were to be released for a handheld rather than a console. Or if the next installment of the Mario or Zelda series were foregoing console release and coming out on a handheld. In other words, this is a HUGE announcement.

I don't understand. I never heard of this game. But seeing how it's number 9 of the series, it must be. =)

Let me find something to compare it to: Imagine if the newest part of the GTA series -- GTA IV, for example -- were to be released for a handheld rather than a console. Or if the next installment of the Mario or Zelda series were foregoing console release and coming out on a handheld. In other words, this is a HUGE announcement.

There are a lot of mario and zelda games on handhelds. =) But point well made. But it doesn't seem much like a game I'd get into methinks. I don't know.

It's kind of hard to compare to here, as the most popular games over here are pretty power-heavy. Basically, it is like, what PHI said, the next GTA coming exclusively to DS. Or Madden. Or Halo.

It's a bit hard to draw comparisons for over here, but it's somethin' like that.

I've never played a main Dragon Quest game, but I have played Rocket Slime for DS, and it was quite fun. I'm looking to pick up Dragon Quest VIII. It's only $20! That is a hell of a deal for the tens of hours of gameplay you will get out of it.

I think the part of my point being missed (and I'm to blame for not emphasizing it) is this: Imagine if those franchises were suddenly to go handheld ... ONLY. In other words, there is no console-based equivalent. The next GTA only for the PSP or DS, not on the PS2, PS3, 360, etc. Would that be considered significant for many gamers?

Apparentally so. Dragon Quest sells more copies in Japan alone than Final Fantasy games sell worldwide. To say this is a huge announcement is an understatement, whether you are personally interested in the game or not; it has a very far-reaching impact on the handheld war and is a potential sign of where S-E is going to be heading with their biggest RPG series, now and in the future. Final Fantasy is a lock for the PS3; it's on its way for the platform. But S-E has also said that they're not going to bring all their franchises to Sony's system. Kingdom Hearts and Dragon Quest have been up in the air since then as to which systems they would end up being on. Backing Nintendo with DQ on its handheld was a very interesting move since that doesn't negate the Wii as a very possible platform for S-E's other major franchise, Kingdom Hearts.

Also: For those of you still unitiated into the DQ gaming experience, I would highly, highly recommend at least renting DQ VIII. It really was a remarkably old-school, fun, and engrossing game; and if it weren't for FF XII and Paper Mario: TYD, it would have easily been my favorite RPG of the generation. DQ IX is going to vary quite a bit from VIII but I've high hopes for the game considering the exact same crew behind VIII is working on IX.

I've never played a main Dragon Quest game, but I have played Rocket Slime for DS, and it was quite fun. I'm looking to pick up Dragon Quest VIII. It's only $20! That is a hell of a deal for the tens of hours of gameplay you will get out of it.

Well, it was my favourite game of last year and I got over a hundred hours of gameplay out of it. What's more, I'm looking forward to doing it all over again. You have a treat in store.

I've never played a main Dragon Quest game, but I have played Rocket Slime for DS, and it was quite fun. I'm looking to pick up Dragon Quest VIII. It's only $20! That is a hell of a deal for the tens of hours of gameplay you will get out of it.

Well, it was my favourite game of last year and I got over a hundred hours of gameplay out of it. What's more, I'm looking forward to doing it all over again. You have a treat in store.

I'm right there with you, man. I have three ongoing games in DQ VIII. I'm building each character with different weapon specialties just to see how they all fare, and they're all enjoyable in their own way. Damn, it's a good game. Just wish you saw the Puppeteer enemies more often; I laugh on every single one.

I'm surprised enough that the DS can produce visuals that impressive, but all of this will also fit onto one DS cart! Pretty amazing considering the last installment came on a DVD.

I've heard a DS cart could be created that would hold upwards of 2gb, though the largest currently in production is 1gb. If that's true, I'm not surprised by it being able to hold the game. But the graphics are amazing all the same. Cel-shading FTW.

I'm surprised enough that the DS can produce visuals that impressive, but all of this will also fit onto one DS cart! Pretty amazing considering the last installment came on a DVD.

I've heard a DS cart could be created that would hold upwards of 2gb, though the largest currently in production is 1gb. If that's true, I'm not surprised by it being able to hold the game. But the graphics are amazing all the same. Cel-shading FTW.

For those who are unable to go to the site due to work firewalls, here's what he had to say:

Quote from: Akira Toriyama

Congratulations on the announcement of Dragon Quest IX!

So the next Dragon Quest is coming to the DS! That was a surprise to me. Surprised you too, right?

But this is really good news to me. I had gradually been losing my enthusiasm, but this makes me feel as if we'll be able to make a bit of a return to the good old days. "Wow!" I thought, "Horii's the man! He's really done it!"

This may just be the nostalgic ramblings of an old man, but back then I really enjoyed making concept art for games. I feel I can proudly say "now those were games!" This time I want to absolutely give it my all to produce fun, simple and impactful new designs.

I'm getting on in my years, but for just a little bit longer, I'm going to give it my best!

I'm surprised enough that the DS can produce visuals that impressive, but all of this will also fit onto one DS cart! Pretty amazing considering the last installment came on a DVD.

Don't ever doubt the DS. Did you really think the DS had bad graphics. Can't look as impressive as PSP graphics, but DS games are a LOT more fun. PSP has a couple good games. But there are a lot of great DS games.